Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

It has come to my attention that I do this every year: fish around in the soil for potatoes before they are due. As I said last year, it’s the anticipation of not knowing what is going on underneath the soil. This aspect of my personality comes as no surprise. I’m the kind of person who skips to the end of a mystery novel. I try not to do it, but nearly always do.

I think I’m going to wait just a wee bit longer. The plants are still in the process of dying back and we could have had a slightly bigger harvest last year if I had just waited before digging it all up.

Minutes after taking this photo, I brought them inside, popped them whole into a pot of boiling water, and served them hot with a pat of butter and a sprinkling of salt. These are the best potatoes we will have all year.

In case you’re wondering: the purple is ‘Purple Peruvian’. I’m not sure about the reddish pink variety since they were given to me at a transplant trade back in the spring. To be honest, I can’t be 100% bout the ‘Purple Peruvian’ since they were originally purchased at an organic supermarket, but I’ve grown them 2 years in a row and am pretty certain based on the potatoes and the colour of the flowers (purple!).